


Boulevard of Not So Broken Dreams

by athousandcas



Category: Merlin (TV)
Genre: M/M
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2014-11-27
Updated: 2014-11-27
Packaged: 2018-02-27 05:44:22
Rating: General Audiences
Warnings: Creator Chose Not To Use Archive Warnings
Chapters: 1
Words: 818
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/2681309
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/athousandcas/pseuds/athousandcas
Summary: <blockquote class="userstuff">
              <p>A fic requested by the lovely <a href="http://profcolsymorgan.tumblr.com">Seshu</a> , in which she gave me the song Boulevard of Broken Dreams by Green Day for a prompt.</p>
            </blockquote>





	Boulevard of Not So Broken Dreams

 Emily hopped down her front steps, splashing the puddles as she went. She continued her hop across the sidewalk, all the while looking down at her next target until she ran straight into a man. She gasped and sprang backwards at the newcomer, tripping over her new rain boots and landing with a plop in one of the puddles.  
      “Hey, Mister!” Emily cried.  
      The man chuckled and helped her stand. “Sorry, Miss, I guess we both need to pay more attention, don’t we?” The man looked down at her kindly, a wide grin stretched across his cheeks.  
      The girl automatically decided she liked him and she giggled in response, nodding in agreement. The man started walking again and she scurried to catch up with him.  
      “I’m Emily,” She stated.  
      Still smiling, the man held out his hand for her to shake, “Merlin,” he told her.  
      She shook his hand and continued talking, “We’re friends now. And friends play together. Do you want to play?” She looked up at him with bright green eyes and he sighed.  
      “I’m very sorry, Emily, but I can’t play right now. I’m going to meet someone.” Emily may have been young, but she could still sense his sadness as he said this. She took his hand, swinging it back and forth as they walked.  
      “I could come meet your friend with you,” she implored with hope.  
      Merlin shook his head slightly, “I’m not sure your parents would want you walking around with a strange man like me.” He sighed again seeing her eyes begin to fill with tears. “I’ll tell you what,” he stopped walking and knelt in front of her, “you go home and ask your parents. Tell them you met Merlin and that he goes for walks, then next time I come around here, they can meet me and then maybe you can come with me next time. Okay?”  
      Emily took a minute to process everything he said and then nodded enthusiastically. “Okay! I’ll do that right now. See you later, Merlin!” She started running and then came back to give Merlin a tight hug. He jumped in surprise but returned it with a smile.   
     He watched as she ran home singing a song he’d never heard out of tune and very loudly.

***

As time went on, it became routine for Emily to take these walks with Merlin. She walked with him telling him tales of her first lost tooth, her days at school, and her first disastrous date. He told her stories about a time long ago when there were kings, dragons, and how he had to protect his king. She became use to his long gray beard, his sad eyes, his bright smile, and stopped questioning why he never looked older, and why he always walked to the lake with the tower.  


She loved the stories about Arthur the most. He would tell her how annoying and stubborn he was but he always did it with a longing smile. He seemed happiest when talking about Arthur, but this was also when he was the saddest. She frequently asked him to tell her the stories where Arthur treated his servant horribly. They always made him laugh. One time, she asked for a different story – one about Arthur’s last battle. She didn’t expect the old man to have tears in his eyes as he detailed Arthur’s last moments. She also didn’t expect to hug Merlin when she saw these tears. She knew it was just a story but she hated to see Merlin cry.

***

When Emily was grown, with a family of her own, her walks with Merlin became less frequent. She still made sure to share those moments with him, but it didn’t happen as often as it used to. She was sitting her two-year-old daughter down for breakfast. As always, everyone in the house was in a hurry. Her husband pecked her cheek as he hurried out to his car, her ten-year-old ran behind him, grabbing an apple before dashing to the bus stop.  
      “Gwen! No throwing your cereal. The doggies don’t want your cereal, they want you to eat it,” Emily tried convincing her daughter with exaggerated cheeriness. The girl just laughed as the dogs raced to eat her droppings. The doorbell rang and Emily gave up on Gwen and the dogs, walking down the doorway to greet the visitor.  
      She was surprised by two young men on her doorstep. Her eyes landed on the tall, skinny, black-haired one first. He looked nervous, but he was beaming brightly too. His blue eyes met hers and she gasped.  
      “Merlin?” she inquired uncertainly. He nodded his head and, impossibly, smiled wider.  
      “Emily. There’s someone I want you to meet.” Her eyes flickered to the other man, then briefly to Merlin and his locked hands. “This,” Merlin dragged the man from where he was trying to hide behind Merlin, “is Arthur.” 

**Author's Note:**

> Excuse the stupid formatting because I can't get it to indent my paragraphs and it's annoying but c'est la vie.


End file.
